


Aftermath

by animatedrose



Series: 2021 writings [5]
Category: Lobotomy Corporation (Video Game)
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Angela being heartless, Chaos, Gebura core suppression, Gen, Hurt feelings, Mass Death, Minor Violence, Time Travel, X trying to be a good manager, abnormalities escaping, just one of those days where you fail hardcore, post-core suppression
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 21:21:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28624761
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/animatedrose/pseuds/animatedrose
Summary: The Red Mist had finally been defeated, but Lobotomy Corporation is left with only two employees. X has a hard decision to make. A few punches are thrown.
Series: 2021 writings [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2089221
Kudos: 13





	Aftermath

“You did well, despite the heavy death toll. I’m sure the employees will bounce back from this.” Angela was as cold as always. “That’s another core suppression complete. The Rabbit Team will clean up the rest of today’s mess.”

X could already hear gunfire. He didn’t need to look at the countless screens on his office walls to know what was happening. The Rabbit Team had moved in, mowing down the escaped abnormalities. He was grateful that the surviving employees had already been pulled out.

The only two survivors.

That hurt to acknowledge. At the start of the day, there had been twenty-three employees trained to handle the abnormalities, along with an additional thirty clerks to aid in other matters. That was over fifty people…and only two were left alive.

Clerks were easy to hire. Most didn’t require special skills. The employees were harder to replace. They needed training and that took time. Time that the abnormalities and now his own Sephirahs wouldn’t give him.

The Red Mist had been merciless. The escape of several Waw and Aleph abnormalities didn’t help. X had assumed that the job of suppressing Gebura was as good as over when White Night’s minder was killed and the god had escaped, releasing his apostles on them.

Thankfully, once most of the employees and clerks were dead, the abnormalities turned their attention to the Red Mist. That was the only thing that saved the day for Lobotomy Corporation. Even if it was a cheap victory, X would take it. Gebura had been suppressed, taken out under the combined might of Nothing There, White Night, and Little Red Riding Hooded Mercenary.

“You should rest, manager X. Today was very stressful,” Angela advised. “I wouldn’t want your body to shut down from lack of care. Humans are fragile, after all.”

“I’ll rest,” X said, rising from his desk. “After I do a few things.”

Angela already knew what he had planned. “You don’t need to comfort them. The fact that they lived and were pulled out before the Rabbit Team deployed should be enough for them.”

“I know.” X headed for his office door. “Sometimes you have to do stupid things.”

Angela watched him leave, disappointed.

.o.o.o.o.

The lounge was strangely empty. Willard couldn’t recall it ever being that empty before. There had always been the clerks, at least.

Now there was nobody. Nobody but him and Kaya.

Kaya sat by him, hunched over with her honey-colored hair spilling over her face. She was crying, had been since they got out of the lower levels. She had to be carried out by her teammate, legs too weak to support her.

Willard stared at the wall in silence. It was strange without the others there.

Raymond cracking jokes. Sandra and Kath giggling over something they saw in a magazine. Howard trying his best to make them pay attention during briefings. Ian seated in the corner, reading some trashy sci-fi novel. Claude sticking something in his face, trying to make Willard do anything but stare at things blankly.

It was too quiet now. Just him and Kaya’s crying. Willard wished he could cry but his tears had long dried up.

He only heard the door opening because it was so quiet. He shifted to look at it.

The manager walked in. Willard tensed, ready for…well, anything. Probably a scolding. They did horrific today. The manager was probably disappointed in them.

“I’m sorry.”

Willard stared. He hadn’t said that. The apology never left his lips.

The manager clenched his fists. “I’m sorry,” he repeated, gaze downcast. “Today was my fault. I failed you as a manager.”

Willard let those words circle around his brain for a minute. By the time he finally figured out how to respond, the manager was hidden behind Kaya’s petite frame. She was on her feet, seething. A crack of flesh on flesh made Willard flinch, recalling how Big Bird had torn Malcolm’s head off in front of him.

The manager’s cheek was red. Kaya had slapped him. Willard forced himself to breathe. He was safe, upstairs, away from those things. Safe, safe, safe.

“Of course it was your fault! So fix it!” Kaya shouted, brown eyes shining with tears. “You let them all die! You watched and did nothing! Aren’t you supposed to know what to do?”

“I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing! It won’t bring anyone back!” Kaya yelled, slamming her fists into his chest. She kept hitting him. “Bring them back! You can do that, right? Lobotomy Corp is where impossible things happen, so bring them all back! Please!”

“Kaya…” Willard slowly rose, tugging her away from their manager. “Stop.”

“No!” Kaya spun, slapping at his chest now. “No, I won’t stop! They didn’t deserve to die! Nobody did! We did our jobs! This wasn’t our fault!”

“I know, I know,” Willard muttered, pulling her into a hug. “We did our best.”

“No, we didn’t!” Kaya cried, face buried in his chest. “We all died! How is dying ‘our best’?”

Willard stroked her hair as Kaya dissolved into tears. He glanced up at the manager, who rubbed his bruised chest. He gestured for their boss to go. Him being there wasn’t going to fix anything.

“I know,” Willard said, hugging Kaya a bit closer. “I know.”

.o.o.o.o.

X slunk back into his office, feeling like a kicked puppy. Kaya reacted as expected, but he was surprised at how passive Willard was. Perhaps all the death had put him too deep into shock to react with the emotion or violence that Kaya had.

X was grateful for that. He knew Willard had a nasty punch.

Sitting at his desk, he stared at the glowing buttons there. The temptation was so high to just reset fully, to start from day one again. He had done that a few times now.

If he just reset today though, he could undo all of this damage. The clerks and employees would be back. He could have them train more, prepare better to suppress Gebura another day. Now he knew it could be done, but he wasn’t willing to pay this price for victory.

His finger hovered to the RETRY button. Then the RETURN TO MEMORY REPOSITORY button. Conflicting thoughts brewed in his head.

How much undoing should he do this time?


End file.
